Morning Song
by Yo_Spiff

Comment:
Didn't get a chance to vote or comment (things have been busy lately) but look at this wonderful gem!

Love the reflections and haze that make this a surreal dreamscape. The muted early morning colors give a 'watercolor' look to this capture. As my eyes travel within the mists a single ray of light draws my eye upward. There. In the tree, sits a single lone bird. The forest lays quiet as it listens to the trill of this solitary bird. This very much captures one of those 'hold your breath and just observe the beauty' moments. Beautiful...and a very lucky capture from your description.

Congrats on your first Blue Steve!

Nataly's Messy Wig
by albc28

Comment:
Interesting use of white space where the main model is confined off to the right - I almost expect to see text fade in on the left hand side announcing the music group and album cover name. Mostly a color photograph with the black and white color contrast of tones. With those two high contrast tones the visual really pops. You mention in your write-up that you wanted more of the focus to be on her face and necklaces. As you aptly expected most voted this an average shot expecting sharp focus on the headware. Although the main focus is not the wig, I still see alot of detail. One suggestion on how to make the face stand out a little more because it takes backstage to the B&W tonal contrasts and that big messy wig is to introduce a power color to the model's lips. A bright bold red would really call attention to her face for it would introduce a splash of bold color to image; not to mention the red would complement the black tones. The black pearl necklaces get really lost on that black dress - I think it is overmuch and that just the white pearl necklaces is enough to give and hold those strong contrast between black and white color tones that dominate the picture.

K N I T
by LMA128

Comment:
Interesting angle of presentation - the viewer is looking down upon the sight. The first thing I notice is the knit cap and then my eyes travel down to look upon the face wearing it. The angle makes me notice the hat first which places that as a main object with the girl wearing it as a supporting role. The focus is soft - giving this image a dreamy feel. Her eyes are closed so that also helps project imagery of dreaming; daydream. The introduction of grain along with the B&W projects a mood and feel of an moment captured decades ago; nostalgic of remembering days past. The B&W also makes the textures of the knit cap more of a strong focus; whereas shape and weave would be less noticable if color was introduced.

Navajo Spirit Rising
by Ja-9

Comment:
Way to go Janine! Congrats on the 4th place finish - fabulous work that captured the beauty and spirit of the place!

Islamorada, L'isola viola
by Cory

Comment:
Just saw this in the posted Outtakes what it looked like before - Wha!!!???? I can't figure out why this placed so far down? Fabulous job in PP as I said before this is a fabulous travel shot that looks like it could appear in a travel brochure - I certainly enjoyed the beauty of the place shown in the shot ( I am one of your 8's). Hmmmm, maybe the reason it placed low is because of monitor calibration - others might have seen it as too dark? (I hate varying calibrations because you never know *exactly* how others are going to see it)

Exodus to the stars
by Yo_Spiff

Comment:
Wow, I love the colors and shapes of these light fixtures. This is an interesting study in colors, shapes and lines. I like how you present this in an interesting angle, but I don't think you got the angle presentation nearly enough to make these fixtures visually pop off of their space. Yes, I know angle can be tough and what I am about to suggest *may* have been impossible. However, the lines of the tall building in the backdrop -compete- and distract from the lines and shapes of those cool light fixtures. If possible - get a straight up shot at that larger fixture on the top portion of this photo so that there is nothing but sky behind it. To me, that larger fixture on the upper portion first struck me as something seen on planetary star charts or planetary orbit trajectories. I know your title is making the allusion that all these fixtures are blasting off into space, but my eyes cannot help but be drawn to that one on the top portion. The full circular shapes and spectacular yellow/orange hues really capture my eye; would make a great abstract in a squared presentation btw. Nonetheless a slightly above average shot that shows a lot of imagination and an eye for looking at new angles to show off the beauty in what many would pass by everyday without blinking an eye.

Fragile Beauty
by Nadine_Vb

Comment:
You captured some nice and lovely details on this orchid. Your lighting is good; fully illuminating this flower to show off details an textures. This is a slightly above average photo but it has potential to move up the scale. First off the background does not allow the beauty of this flower to visually pop off the page. The flat, dull beige does not allow the floral colors to pop like a black or white background would by providing greater contrast. Lastly, there is too much negative space on the left hand side that right now with that beige backdrop does nothing to improve visual appeal of the image.

The Snowqueen
by silverscreen

Comment:
It is very hard to get a good dynamic balance with varying shades of white/high key. You did a splendid job here. The details are wonderful and complementary to this 'snowqueen' from the star shaped jewels in her crown to the curled swirls in the whipple outlining her masked face. I do have one small critique to suggest that would make this outstanding capture even better and that is I wish there were some nice catchlights in her dark eyes. The sparkle there would really liven up the eyes, not to mention complement the sparkle of gems in her crown.

~ Man of the Year ~
by LVicari

Comment:
Absolutely wonderful lighting that really makes the contrasts between highlights and shadows very dynamic. Look at all the great details in this portrait - and the gentleman pose is arresting too;-) Great catchlights in the eyes. His bold glance just captures and holds eye contact with you. Outstanding portrait work here.

Living on the Edge
by ekmai

Comment:
One cannot be go wrong with the beautiful scenes in Santorini:-) Love the composition that shows off this cliffside city by the sea at dusk. The soft purple and pink hues of the sky and the lights sparkling illuminates the city buildings like ornaments along the hillside are visually stunning. Love the panoramic presentation of the composition for it gives me a wide scale appreciative view of the beauty of this city.